


Christmas Lights

by notoriousjae



Series: Marshfield Drabbles [3]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/F, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Romance, Violins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-05
Updated: 2016-01-05
Packaged: 2018-05-11 21:36:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5642824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notoriousjae/pseuds/notoriousjae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Max and Kate brighten up her dorm for the holiday season and Kate maybe looks like Meg Ryan. Part of a series of Marshfield prompts (ranging from cute to cuter) that turned into drabbles. (G for Jesus?)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Lights

**Author's Note:**

> A bunch of people have sent in Marshfield drabbles to my [Tumblr](http://begonefoulsoftdrink.tumblr.com/ask), so I figured I might as well post them here. Just because.
> 
>  **This Drabble:** Christmas Lights

****“Thanks for helping me decorate, Max.” Kate’s smile is small and bright, like this little candle flickering in the corner, and Max’s only real response is a smile in return. They’ve spent the better part of the afternoon creating landscapes of light in the blonde’s room, getting rid of any of the darkness that lingered. There’s some classical orchestral Christmas music in the background as they work on the small space, and by the time Max hops up on a chair to finish hanging the last string of bright white lights right above Kate’s bed, the photographer can’t help but feel good about it.

“It’s no big.” A shrug of a shoulder, nearly sheepish as she stumbles a little back from the chair when she ungracefully tries to dismount it, Kate’s hand raising up to catch her back, both of them sharing a small smile. “I really like it, Kate. It was a great idea.” 

“It does look...brighter in here, don’t you think?” It’s said with this small determined look that sort of makes Kate look like Meg Ryan--she scrunches her nose and tilts her chin up and looks a little pleased--and Max’s eyes crinkle in the corners, raising a hand up to squeeze the edges of the fingers hooking by her elbow because sometimes there’s nothing more naturally beautiful than a girl looking like a 90′s movie star (like **Kate** ) highlighted by bright white lights with a scrunched up nose, high hair, and life in her eyes.

“A lot brighter.” They both look towards the strings of lights and pictures and drawings (And a Christmas reef, a roll of tinsel that’s probably going to shed all over Kate’s bed, and this mural of a manger Kate painted in water color’s and delicate strokes last week) and let out an accomplished sigh in unison. 

Kate’s fingers raise up from the crook of her elbow to curl her hand in it, fitting comfortably against her side, head falling down to her shoulder, and Max isn’t paying as much attention to the lights, anymore. Instead, she watches the way they light up the shadows underneath her eyes like there’s never been shadows there, at all, and Max leans into her, too, both of them watching the shining lights.

“Maybe we could do your room, next.” Kate offers and Max nearly shrugs her shoulder before she realizes her friend’s leaning on it. “I know you offered to do it for me but...it has to be weird not having Christmas with your parents, too, right?”

“Yeah, it kind of is. I mean, it’s not, like, twilight zone weird or anything but...I’ve never really had it without them, either.” It’s a concession accompanied by the scuff of converse against the floor and Kate tugs her down to the lit-up bed with kind eyes and a quiet smile. 

Kate’s smile is small, covered by a barely tilting wrist and parted fingers, and hazel eyes dance like Christmas lights underneath the soft glow of a fire. “Well.” She says simply, nose ducking a little, back to being full of light, a halo of Christmas lights framing her face. “We can have it together.” Kate tugs down a small string of the lights and wraps it around Max’s neck and giggles a little, from behind her hand. “Before you think I’m subtly inviting you, let me just tell you: we better have Christmas together.” It’s a teasing comment and Max might roll her eyes if they weren’t pretty comfortable on the bed.

“Only if you play violin.” And there’s a hint of something serious in her throat, because it’s been way too long since she’s heard her play.

“Okay. I take requests.” Kate actually hops up to grab it, pushing aside the hot cocoa they’d had earlier, swapped out from their usual tea, popping open her violin case. 

Eyebrows raise. “Devil went down to Georgia?” 

“ _Max_.” Kate rolls her eyes but still smiles and laughs reaches across the distance of her room to flick the light hanging around a neck with her bow. 

“What? That song is like the ode to the violin.”

“No way, Sivan’s rendition of the _Liszt b minor Sonata_ is the ode to the violin.” Max thinks Kate talks about classic music like how she talks about filmography and the brunette just tents her hands on her stomach as she lays down on a familiar bed, watching knowing fingers tune the fine instrument. 

“I’d love to hear whatever you want to play.” And Max smiles right back, hands tenting on her stomach as she lays down on a familiar bed. 

“You have to play the guitar for me, though, okay?” Resin runs a fine, smooth line up horse hair and Max is transfixed by it.

“Deal.”

Kate plays violin and the lights twinkle and Max falls asleep here amidst the warmth of a once-dark space brought to life, smile on her lips, because it feels like _Christmas._


End file.
